Can you describe your background and career to date?
I studied Pharmacy at Aston University, qualifying in 2012 after a split industrial/hospital pre-registration year. As part of that I spent 6 months working in a Formulation Development Lab and caught the bug, heading up to Nottingham to study for a PhD in Pharmacy. I explored the influence of formulation on drug release and food effects or HPMC based extended-release tablets. After this, I joined Upperton as a Project Scientist and have taken on various roles such as Senior Scientist, Technical Project Manager, Director of Business Operations and finally my current role as Director of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Can you give an overview of your current role and department?
As Director of Pharmaceutical Sciences, I head up our R&D team of around 15, ensuring the successful delivery of our client programmes. The team undertake projects from Proof of Concept through to ready for Technical Transfer, working from mgs to kgs of API.
Can you elaborate on how your roles at Upperton have evolved since you joined?
When I first joined Upperton, the company was focused on R&D programmes only, and I was involved with introducing our dosage form capabilities so that we could support Drug Product development further. Over the years, we have introduced our GMP operations and scaling up of these, so I have developed an awareness of the end-to-end process even for our early proof of concept programmes.
Which R&D projects have you found most rewarding?
I am a true formulator at heart, so I really enjoy seeing successful manufacture of drug products, especially solid dose. We have many programmes that started as proof of concept in our R&D team, and where we developed the first formulation, which are now in late-stage clinical manufacture and being used to benefit patients.
What are some of the biggest challenges you face in overseeing the introduction and coordination of R&D projects, and how do you address them?
When projects arrive with us, it’s really important that we understand the development history and the target product profile and for this we have to build strong client relationships. Our most successful (and satisfying!) projects are those where we become part of the client development team, and work closely to bring positive outcomes.
How do you approach the challenge of coordinating complex R&D projects to ensure they align with both client expectations and Upperton’s goals?
As a contract organisation, there is always the balance between the technical and commercial arrangement, but our experience means we can leverage on previous know-how to identify challenges and considerations early and keep client and Upperton stakeholders in the loop.
What trends or advancements in pharmaceutical sciences are you most excited about, and how do you see them impacting your work at Upperton?
We have seen a lot of recent enquiries around soft-mist inhalers, which aligns nicely with the knowledge we have built with previous nasal and pulmonary development programmes. Of course, AI seems to be the hot topic, and discussions are ongoing to how best to use AI here at Upperton for the advancement of customers projects.
Can you describe Upperton in a few words?
Upperton is a dynamic and friendly team of technical experts, who thrive on challenges and enjoy providing solutions for the pharmaceutical industry.
What are you looking forward to in Upperton’s future?
I’m looking forward to seeing our scale up manufacturing capabilities in full swing and continuing to build and develop our teams to see projects progress further along the development pipeline towards Commercial.
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